[John_D]

Meh. Not worried...









Yet

First serious "red ball" cricket for some of them since the end of the home Ashes series, on what sounds like a really flat track.

A nice long bowl at this stage might actually be better preparation than knocking a team over twice in quick succession on a green pitch.

[TimperleySaint]

Defo a batting track by the looks of it, good start for England with the bat, Carberry especially.

Problem is though, no matter how flat a track looks, we are always prone to that batting collapse and easily end up being 200 all out. But if our bowlers can't find a way to get 20 wickets on those types of pitches we'll struggle to win matches.

As you say, first real hit out though since the summer, so hopefully onwards and upwards from here!

Aussies won toss and are batting first, don't mind that! Come on jimmy knock that off-stump out first over can't wait for the start

[TimperleySaint]

Very good first day with the ball for England. Aussies probably got 50 or 60 more than they should have, given the position they were in at 130/6 but would definitely have taken this before a ball was bowled.

Need to get these 2 wickets in the first half an hour in the morning and set about getting 400+ on the board - 500 if they can, and maybe only look to bat once in this game.

[John_D]

Excellent work by the 27-year old medium pacer. More than happy with that on day one on what everyone suggests is a belter of a wicket.

Good to see the 27-year-old medium pacer walk into his press conference with a copy of the offending newspaper under his arm too.

Is he growing up a bit from the stroppy, petulant young man he used to be?

Was reading the Courier-Mail's live coverage this morning and they were very sheepish when referring to the 27-year-old medium pacer.

Even Piers Morgan was having a bash at them, irony at it's greatest there.

[John_D]

Andy Gilder wrote:

Is he growing up a bit from the stroppy, petulant young man he used to be?

Let's not get too far ahead of ourselves